Aylesbury runner preparing for 21st London Marathon after leg procedure

Glyn Hassall, 58, is raring to go after a procedure cured the itching and swelling of his legs. Since 2001, Glyn has raised close to a whopping £50,000 for charity, a specialist health clinic revealed.

However it has been confirmed that Glyn risked missing this year’s race because of varicose veins. After the health scare, Glyn is fully-committed to raising money for Whizz Kidz again, a charity that raises money to supply disabled children with wheelchairs, VeinCentre confirms.

He is a civil engineer and was forced to miss five weeks of training due to a chest infection. He also underwent treatment for varicose veins in December, which he thought might ruin his chances of running the marathon completely.

Glyn said: “I wasn’t going to do the marathon as I’d had my veins done just before Christmas but I’ve recovered ok. As soon as the procedure was over, I was up and walking.

“It took me a few weeks before I was back running. The chest infection took me out for a few weeks so I was aiming for a sub-four hour race but I’m not putting pressure on myself.”

He revealed that vein issues started almost five years ago when he noticed his veins were more prominent, especially around his knee joints on both legs.

He added: “The veins were swelling in both legs. I noticed it more visually at first but then as time went on I’d notice my ankles were swelling up quite significantly. Especially when I was sitting at my desk all day.

“Then the veins became itchy and I was suffering with some varicose eczema, too, alongside the swelling. I felt I had to do something about it.”

Running helped relieve some of the pressure on Glyn’s legs helping improve his circulation after sitting down all day. But it was the swelling and itching of the veins during the day that prompted him to seek treatment. Especially after his wife nearly banned running until the problem was resolved.

Glyn said: “I went to the GP but was told the NHS don’t treat varicose veins. I enquired at VeinCentre when my wife told me I couldn’t run any more marathons until I had my veins sorted. I said to the doctor who did the procedure that I wanted it to shave half an hour off my marathon time.

“With how tight my legs first felt after the procedure, I did think it would take four or five weeks to recover but I was back jogging after about two weeks. I'm pleased that I had it done."

His advice to first-timers is to not set off too fast. He said: “The adrenaline is fantastic at the beginning of the race and it’s really easy to burn through all of your energy stores in the first six miles if you go too quickly.

“Just enjoy the day, because it's fantastic. It's the best day in London. Put your name on the front of your vest so the thousands of people watching on the course can see it and cheer you on."

Glyn’s fundraising page can be found here. At the time of writing Glyn has raised over £3,000 for this year’s event.